Maurizio Sarri insisted his want to play 'faster football' was the reason for him selecting Eden Hazard as a 'false nine' in Chelsea's clash against Manchester City.

The Italian decided to select a front three of Hazard, Willian and Pedro to lead the line against the Premier League champions, something that Antonio Conte did last season but to a very detrimental effect to the side.

However, there is hope that with Sarri's more possession-based style that it might be an effective thing to do in the future, with this being the first time that he has tried it from the start of a match.

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Pep Guardiola has done something similar, as well, with Raheem Sterling, Riyad Mahrez and Leroy Sane as City's front three, while Gabriel Jesus has been named on the bench and Sergio Aguero is injured.

And while Sarri isn't sure why the visitors have decided to go with the same tactic, he insists his reason is to cause City's defence some problems with their pace.